


SU Writing Prompt: Pearl eats pizza to make Steven happy

by PostTeenager



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3806911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PostTeenager/pseuds/PostTeenager
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl eats pizza to make Steven happy. Based off a writing prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	SU Writing Prompt: Pearl eats pizza to make Steven happy

Pearl and Garnet were playing ping-pong.

Garnet bounced the ball on the table a couple times, getting ready to serve. She wound up hard, and the sonic boom from the impact was audible.

“No missions tomorrow, Pearl.” said Garnet, as Pearl returned gracefully, smacking the hard plastic ball over the net.

“What was that, Garnet?” Pearl asked, as Garnet volleyed the ball right back.

“It’s Steven’s birthday tomorrow. He wants to go to a fish stew pizza with some of his friends. And we’re going to chaperone them. I can’t believe you’ve forgotten Steven’s birthday.”

“Ugh. Birthdays. My goodness. And pizza, no less.” Pearl complained. “Such a strange human ritual, to celebrate solar orbits with baked dough, topped with bovine emissions.”

“It’s for Steven. It might be fun.”

“Ugh.” Pearl looked a bit ill, and her play began to falter. “Might. It’ll almost certainly be repulsive. What if I just stay at home and bake a cake? You and Amethyst can go.”

“Amethyst is baking the cake this year.” Garnet said.

“Amethyst?” Pearl asked, incredulous. “Amethyst has never baked anything more complicated than a microwave bean burrito! Why in Rose’s name is she being entrusted with Steven’s cake?”

“She called dibs.” Garnet replied. “About two weeks ago. We’re crystal gems. It is our responsibility to protect fairly-claimed dibs. It’s just a thing we do.”

“Dibs.” Pearl muttered. “When you’re right, you’re right, I suppose.”

Garnet wound up again, bashing the ball hard, and it disintegrated on impact, spraying Pearl with shrapnel. “Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Pearl replied, putting down her paddle and trying to brush at her hair with her hands. “It’s only mostly in my eyes.”

* * *

 

Later, at Fish Stew Pizza, Kofi had set up the traditional spread. Pepperoni, cheese, a giant cookie, sliced rotationally, in the shape of a comical cartoon cat’s face. The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“This actually might not be so bad.” Pearl murmured, hanging off Garnet’s arm like some sort of gigantic humanoid bird. “Steven looks happy. Connie is having fun. This is actually almost nice.”

“Who wants to play reattach the donkey’s tail.” Called Garnet, holding up a felt tail and a blindfold. “I have the blinding cloth. Who wants to be blinded.” The kids looked pretty excited at the proposition.

Suddenly, the lights went out. Garnet dropped the gaming paraphernalia instantly, summoning her gauntlets, and Pearl did the same with her spear. “Nothing to panic about, children. Just get under the tables.” Said Pearl.

There was a flickering light coming through the crack between the swinging double doors that led to the kitchen. The kids hunkered down, and the door shook as some kind of horrible, glowing four-headed monster entered the dining area.

“Happy birthday to you…” It intoned.

“We are the crystal gems, the guardians of this planet, and you will stand down at once!” Pearl shouted, pointing her spear.

“Happy birthday to you…” It continued, unfazed.

“Pearl, stop.” Garnet said. “I’m pretty sure it’s just Kofi.”

The kids re-emerged from under the tables, and joined along in the song.

“Human rituals are so unnerving.” Pearl murmured to Garnet as the song came to it’s end and Steven blew out the candles. Connie turned the lights back on.

Instead of a cake, the candles were stuck into a pizza, split trilaterally. One third seemed to be some kind of whimsical variation of Hawaiian-style pizza- pineapples and the like. The next was startlingly red- pomegranate pips and red onion, and the last was purple asparagus spears.

“I think it’s supposed to be us.” Garnet remarked, and Kofi beamed.

“I’m glad you see it!” He said. “We brought together special ingredients specifically for this Crystal Gem pizza. Think of this as a thank you for saving my family.”

“Oh, how lovely.” Cringed Pearl. “You should not have.” She turned, whispering to Garnet. “Really, they should not have.”

“It looks delicious,” Garnet said. “Thank you.” She paused. “Let’s eat.”

The kids cheered and dug in, and Garnet grabbed a slice of the Garnet-colored portion. The pomegranate popped somewhat unsettlingly in her mouth, but she found the sweetness played well with the sharp oniony aroma. It wasn’t terrible.

“You should try some.” She said.

“Uh..” Said Pearl.

“Yeah, Pearl! You haven’t had any!” Said Steven.

“Uhm.” Said Pearl.

“Peeeaaarrrrllll!” Steven whined.

“They made it for you special.” Garnet said. “It would be rude to refuse.”

“Uhm.” Said Pearl. “I, uh, guess so.” With shaking hands, she took a slice. Upon closer examination, the cheese itself seemed to have been dyed a turquoise blue. Clever. “Here, uh, goes nothing..”

She bit into the slice and chewed a bit. “You know, this actually isn’t half bad.” She said. “The richness of the cheese. My goodness. The silkiness. The acidity of the pineapple.” She swallowed, taking another bite, narrating it as she went. “Uh, the thin crust. Very nice.” She took another bite, with a fraction of the hesitation of the first.

She folded the last half of the slice lengthwise and just sort of shoved it into her mouth, her jaw struggling to chew for a moment before she seemed to remember her ability to shape-shift, and she unlocked her mandible entirely, gnashing at the remainder of the slice messily as she grabbed more slices with both hands.

“Pearl, simmer down.” Garnet said.

The kids all looked horrified. Pearl tried to say something, but she was inaudible through the entire slice of pizza she had been actively shoving into her mouth.

“Uh, Pearl? You okay?” Asked Steven. But she was already moving on to the second pizza, and the third. She chugged a whole bottle of root beer.

“Her gem is lactose-intolerant, maybe.” Garnet said, as Pearl collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Later, Pearl found herself on the couch, sipping tea. She could hear Steven messing around in the kitchen. "Steven?" She called "What are you making?"

"Oh, uh..." Steven paused. "Uh, chicken soup! I heard you weren't feeling too well, and my dad said it helps a lot! Amethyst is helping!"

Pearl shuddered, pulling a pashmina closer around her shoulders. "Thank you, Steven, but I think I'm fine."

"Aww, you sure? What's the worst that could happen?" Amethyst said. "You get all weird again?"

Garnet was standing in the doorway. "Amethyst. Don't be cruel. Pearl's sick."

"Anyway, there's soup if you want some, Pearl." Said Steven. He turned to Amethyst "Let's let her get some rest."

And Pearl put her head on the armrest, staring out at the serene turquoise waves and the blonde-sanded beach. And she could hear laughter in the house, and she knew she was loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks! This is my first SU fanfiction, I hope you like it. 
> 
> >I can only see Pearl get agitated enough for it to be a thing, Amethyst might say it during her outbursts, Garnet only in extreme situations. How would you view the other gems saying it?
> 
> I feel like Pearl would use it pretty casually. She was super close to Rose, and I feel like her use of the term would be just another way of remembering her.
> 
> On the other hand, Garnet, I think, would use it in almost a religious context, like a short prayer. “Rose help us.”, that sort of thing. I feel like Garnet absolutely adored rose, as a sort of sisterly figure, almost to the point of deification. 
> 
> Amethyst would tend to use it out of anger, so certainly during her outbursts. I feel like Amethyst harbors a lot of guilt about Rose, honestly. She was the closest thing Amethyst had for any sort of maternal character, and the mention of Rose, I think, would be particularly painful for her.


End file.
